War of the Otori Succession
The "War of the Otori Succession" was a three-way conflict that came into being after the death of Iida Sadamu and the fall of the Tohan Clan. It pitted the reigning Otori lord of Hagi, Shoichi (supported by his younger brother Masahiro) against the claimant Otori Takeo, adopted son (and biological nephew) of Otori Shigeru, the deceased legitimate heir to the Clan. Shoichi's faction was indirectly supported by Iida Nariaki (cousin of his old ally Iida Sadamu) who rallied the remains of the Tohan in attempt to take the domain of Maruyama. Takeo, meanwhile, drew support from many discontented Otori warriors, as well as most of the Maruyama clan's retainers in support of his wife, Shirakawa Kaede, and the pirate Terada clan. Both factions also faced opposition from Arai Daiichi, the new overlord of the Three Countries, who wanted to either place a more submissive puppet figure in charge of the clan or else claim their lands for himself by right of conquest. The war ended in a decisive victory for Takeo at the Battle of Hagi, where a massive earthquake wiped out most of Daiichi's army and Daiichi himself was killed, leaving the Arai cla- despite its' vast conquests- without leadership or significant support. With Shoichi, Masahiro and their various sons dead, Takeo was readily accepted by the Otori Clan as the new lord of Hagi and all of the Middle Country was returned to Otori rule; the Arai vassals established in the Eastern country accepted him as their new overlord, and his wife Kaede's inheritance of both Shirakawa and Maruyama secured half the Western Country, making him undisputed ruler of the Three Countries. Background: Across the Nightingale Floor The event that touched off the war was the death of Iida Sadamu. Prior to the Battle of Yagaehara, Otori Shigeru had been heir to the Otori Clan, followed by his younger brother Takeshi. After the Otori's defeat at Yagaehara, however, Iida Sadamu- the head of the Tohan Clan and Shigeru's most bitter enemy- forced Shigeru and Takeshi to abdicate the succession, instead giving it to his uncles, Otori Shoichi and Otori Masahiro. However, Shigeru's popularity and the cruel repression of Tohan warriors in former Otori territories meant that he could potentially easily usurp his uncles, start uprisings in Tohan territory and potentially wage war to reclaim lands lost at Yagaehara. With Takeshi having been murdered by Tohan soldeirs, Shigeru's uncles- who were frightened and envious of their nephew's popularity- plotted with Iida to secure their hold over the remaining Otori lands by making an alliance with the Tohan, which would be cemented by the marriage of Shigeru and Shirakawa Kaede. Secretly, the marriage was an excuse to make Shigeru journey to the Tohan capital of Inuyama, where Sadamu could assassinate Shigeru or find some pretext to execute him for treason. What Sadamu, Shoichi and Masahiro did not know was that Shigeru had his own plans. He had rescued his biological nephew, Tomasu, and adopted him under the name of Takeo; he agreed to the marriage in exchange for Takeo being formally adopted into the Otori clan. Takeo's father, Kikuta Isamu, was a former member of the Tribe. As such, he possessed many inherent powers and skills which made him a master assassin, skills which Takeo inherited; he and Shigeru plotted for Takeo to assassinate Sadamu in Inuyama, after which the Tohan would be leaderless and Shigeru could easily reclaim control of the Otori Clan. However, Takeo was abducted by the Tribe before he could carry it out, as the Kikuta family wished to claim his skills and make him one of them. Without Takeo, Shigeru was forced to go along with the marriage, but Sadamu had him accused of treason, imprisoned and tortured before it could take place. Sadamu then attempted to lie with Shigeru's betrothed, Kaede, but she killed him before he could rape her. After making a bargain with the Tribe, Takeo rescued Shigeru and gave him a painless death, then wiped out most of Iida's retainers in Inuyama as the castle burned down. At the same time, events in the Western Country came into play. Kaede's former friend (and fellow hostage of the Noguchi clan) Arai Daiichi, was a former ally of Shigeru. Shortly before Kaede's betrothal to Shigeru, Daiichi had been banished back to the Arai fief of Kumamoto by the unwitting Lord Noguchi. However, this was exactly what Daiichi wanted; he had long despised the Noguchi and the Tohan for their treachery at Yagaehara and resented his status as a hostage. Raising an army, he defeated first Kaede's father Lord Shirakawa- who had sworn allegiance to the Tohan- and then the Noguchi, killing most of the latter in revenge. Marching west, he gained support in the formerly Otori city of Yamagata- which had erupted into open rebellion against the Tohan once Shigeru's death was announced. As Takeo and his allies escaped Inuyama, Daiichi arrived in the Eastern Country to conquer it. Knowing that the reigning Otori lords were involved in the plot to murder his former ally Shigeru, Daiichi soon began preparations to conquer them as well, both to avenge Shigeru and to bring the Otori fief under his control. The obvious ally for him to accomplish this was Takeo; as Shigeru's heir and (supposed) avenger, most of the Otori clan would likely defect to him already, giving the Arai a potentially easy conquest. Daiichi also wanted Takeo to marry Kaede, as it would bind her father to Takeo in alliance and secure his loyalty. Takeo genuinely wished to punish Shigeru's uncles for their treachery, and was genuinely in love with Kaede. However, his agreement with the Tribe meant he had to renounce his Otori inheritance entirely or forfeit his life, and he disappeared soon after his meeting with Daiichi. Enraged at the Tribe for taking his opportunity for an early victory through Takeo, Daiichi began planning both a campaign to fight the Otori and to root out the Tribe. Consolidation of gains and preparations: Grass For His Pillow Daiichi begins re-building Inuyama to serve as his new military headquarters; it is somewhat more centrally located than Kumamoto, and would better secure his conquests against the remaining Tohan warriors and vassals who had escaped Sadamu's fall. He sets up vassals in the various Eastern territories and begins re-building his army, which is stretched thin by its' various occupations. Despite Daiichi's genuine efforts to keep order across the Three Countries, various groups of bandits begin gathering around mountain passes and roads outside villages. Although Daiichi's conquests are vast- giving him control of nearly all the southern half of the Three Countries- his control is uncertain and his potential enemies numerous. The Otori lords have not yet declared war on him, but with Takeo's disappearance their claim to the Otori clan's leadership no longer has any challengers, and they may attempt to seize back Yamagata and some of the other former Otori fief possessions. As it is, while the current Otori fief is not especially large, their capitol (the port city of Hagi) is well-supplied, has excellent natural fortifications and is supposedly impossible to take by siege. The Otori are also now the main employers of the Tribe, who originally worked mainly for Iida Sadamu; with Sadamu's fall, Daiichi's impulsive and ineffective campaign against the Tribe means most of them have defected to Shoichi and Masahiro. This gives the Otori a great advantage in intelligence and espionage, as well as the financial support of many Tribe merchants. However, the Otori, aware of Arai's greater military strength, do not seek open battle and instead consolidate defensive positions at Hagi and Tsuwano, increasing the already-heavy taxes on their subjects to build up money for a military campaign. After Takeo defects from the Tribe (both disillusioned by their cruelty and by the knowledge that the Kikuta killed his father for leaving them) the Otori lords, alarmed, begin employing the Kikuta to hunt him down, as he is the biggest threat to their legitimacy. Meanwhile, although the Arai domain is obviously loyal to Daiichi, the rest of the West is in turmoil. The sudden death of Lord Shirakawa temporarily raises the question of his succession for Arai; although he hopes to marry Kaede off to one of his retainers and thus secure the Shirakawa domain, Kaede tells his representative that her father named her as his heir. She also manages to give the impression that she is more powerful and secure within Shirakawa than she appears, though also indicating that she is and intends to remain Daiichi's loyal ally. In reality, she has financed the restoration of her domain through the support of her neighbor, the courtly nobleman Fujiwara, with whom she engages in a dangerous game of intrigues and secrets. Maruyama, a far more valuable domain to the north of Kumamoto, raises another problem for the Arai; although the previous ruler, Lady Maruyama Naomi, named Kaede (her cousin) her heir before her death, Naomi's stepdaughter is also married to Sadamu's cousin (and the leader of the remains of the Tohan Clan) Iida Nariaki, who intends to claim it through her. While the Tohan were crippled by the fall of Inuyama, if they join with Shoichi and Masahiro they may prove strong enough together to present a real threat to Daiichi. He begins making overtures to the Emperor to accept the Arai clan as officially sanctioned overlords of the Three Countries, in order to lend further legitimacy to his position. Almost a year after Sadamu's death, Daiichi is shocked and angered when Kaede disappears in the spring (supposedly while journeying to meet him at Inuyama) only to appear at the mountain temple of Terayama shortly after with none other than the resurfaced Otori Takeo. Having rejected the Kikuta (who had broken faith with him already) and found refuge and much support at Terayama, Takeo has been making plans to seek his Otori inheritance, aided by his friend Kubo Makoto. While at Terayama, he marries Kaede without Daiichi's permission. Takeo's plan is to gather support from discontented Otori warriors who felt more loyalty for Shigeru than his uncles; he and Kaede can then march to Maruyama, secure the domain in her name, and then approach the Arai to negotiate. Takeo hopes to placate Daiichi's anger with a secret set of records that Shigeru compiled on the Tribe (kept for him at Terayama), which would prove extremely valuable to Daiichi in his campaign to destroy them; in return for Daiichi recognizing him as heir to the Otori and helping him defeat Shoichi and Masahiro (the offer Daiichi made him originally) Takeo and Kaede would swear allegiance to Daiichi and give him the records. Unknown to either Takeo or Kaede, after learning of their actions Daiichi sends soldiers to occupy Kaede's undefended estate in Shirakawa and take her two sisters, Ai and Hana, as hostages. The War: Brilliance of the Moon Takeo's march to Kibi: crossing the mountain and the Battle of the Ford Shortly after Takeo and Kaede's wedding, Jo-An, a leatherworker (outcast) and a member of the Hidden who supported Takeo, warns him that nearly six thousand Otori warriors have moved from Tsuwano to surround the roads leading north and south of Terayama, intending to intercept and destroy Takeo's force before he can reach either Maruyama or Yamagata. Badly outnumbered (his army, though growing, is barely a thousand men) Takeo instead leads his forces over the mountains west, by the same narrow path he took to reach the temple originally. The warrior monks at Terayama, meanwhile, intend to fortify the temple and resist the Otori in Takeo's name. After crossing the mountain with some difficulty, Takeo and Kaede reach a river in full flood from the late spring rains, only to find that the bridge has been destroyed and that the Otori, having learned of their movement over the mountains, are now pursuing them. Jo-An and several of his fellow outcasts build a makeshift floating bridge, which they use to cross the river and then destroy to prevent pursuit. Takeo and his men are attacked by a group of mounted bandits, whom they easily overwhelm, losing less than ten men. He gains one replacement from the headman of a nearby village the bandits were terrorizing, a young man named Jiro. Takeo and Kaede then journey on to the small town of Kibi, barely garrisoned and held by one of Daiichi's minor retainers, Niwa Junkei. Takeo requests shelter and passage for his armies, promising that he does not intend to wage war against Junkei or Daiichi and that he intends to seek alliance with the Arai as soon as possible. Despite Daiichi's orders to detain Takeo if possible, Junkei is aware that he could not offer real resistance anyway, and is grateful that Takeo had dealt with the bandits (which Junkei himself had failed to do) so he allows Takeo's forces shelter and passage.